Pesticides hurting Great Barrier Reef: report

An environmental spokesman says recent Queensland floods are carrying pollutants through the Great Barrier Reed and destroying sea-grass beds.

Naomi Brookfield, file photo: User submitted

The Queensland and Federal Government's first report card on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef has found pesticides used in agriculture are causing significant problems for the reef.

The report says some farmers need to be more careful with their chemicals, finding that nearly one-quarter of horticulture producers and 12 per cent of graziers are using practices considered unacceptable by industry and the community.

In the case of the sugar cane industry, roughly one-third face the same criticism.

Nick Heath from the World Wildlife Fund Australia says the sugar cane industry in the wet tropics had a 72 per cent rate of "unacceptable practice".

Mr Heath says the report shows government needs to further limit the use of chemicals, and he has called for a ban on the weedkiller Diuron.

"Pesticides have been found at toxic concentrations up to 60 kilometres inside the World Heritage area and at concentrations known to harm coral," he said.

"And you may be aware that there's a big die-off in turtle and dugong numbers at the moment as a result of the floods. Those floods are carrying these pollutants and they're basically destroying the sea-grass beds of Queensland."

But the sugar cane industry's peak body, Canegrowers, says the data reflects practices of a few years ago, and says there has been significant change since then.

Canegrowers chief executive Steve Greenwood says Diuron is used safely and should not be banned.

"The banning of Diuron from use within the cane industry would be a major setback for us," he said.

"Without the use of that herbicide we would basically have no other replacements for that.

"We've used money from the Government, as well as a fair whack of our own money, to start significantly changing the way in which we operate along the coastal areas.

"The data isn't actually out there yet - it's soon to be released after three years - but there's already signs of very, very significant change."

'Moderate condition'

The report says the Great Barrier Reef is in moderate condition overall.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says there are a number of factors that can have an impact.

"Some of it is just straight dirt and sediment, because clearing that washes out [the reef]," he said.

"Some of it is in the increasing carbonic acid in the ocean itself which ... after the reef takes a hit following a major weather event, it recovers more slowly.

"So there's a series of impacts there. Agricultural chemicals are one of them."

Mr Burke says the use of chemicals has become much more precise and environmentally friendly in the past few years, but said some of those improvements may be undermined by Cyclone Yasi.

"There's been a major weather event which did cause the reef to take a hit," he said.

"So you'll see some improvements in practices. Exactly how that translates in different parts of the reef is something that will come out when we get the report."